Facebook marketing weekly review (April 25th 2014)

We are very excited about this week’s Pulse. Learn how to create a sales funnel without relying on email. You can achieve this by using a nurture sequence and website custom audiences. Find out what the newsfeed algorithm changes announced by Facebook mean for your Page and get some tips on adjustments you can make now in advance of new Page timeline. We also share some of our top tips on how to deal with cheating when you are running a Facebook contest.

Why not let us know what you think of this week’s Pulse? “Like” us on Facebook and leave your comments

#1 Newsfeed Changes will Target Certain Page Posts

Facebook has announced that more changes to the Newsfeed algorithm are imminent. These changes are specifically designed to target spammy posts, particularly where pages are trying to game the newsfeed. So what type of posts will Facebook be targeting?

What’s the PULSE on This?

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The new “like-baiting” update means page owners need to be very clear with their calls to action to avoid being penalized.

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Avoid spammy links. Make sure that when a fan clicks on a link post they get what they expect on the other side.

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The update is unlikely to affect you if you’re posting good quality content. If you are not trying to game the newsfeed then the change is good news. It will protect people like you and I from spammers.

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Kim did question the fairness of Facebook deciding what is considered spam and what is not. Would it not be better for Facebook users to decide this? We will just have to wait and see.

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Stay on top of what works for your fans. If they like, comment and share your content then they will keep seeing it

#2 Facebook Contests: How to Deal with Cheating

Unfortunately, cheating is a fact of life. Don’t bury your head in the sand if you are running a Facebook contest, you need to be prepared. Take some simple steps to prevent cheating as much as possible and have a system in place to deal with it where it does arise. This will protect you and keep your loyal fans happy where cheating does rear its ugly head. Find out how…. .

What’s the PULSE on This?

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Choose prizes carefully, if you choose something that you think will attract cheaters – you are probably right

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Deciding on what promotion channels to use is important too. Pick wisely. The more mainstream the audience of the distribution channel is, the higher the risk that you will attract cheaters. For example if you are advertising to your own database the risk is relatively low, advertising to TV viewers will carry a much greater risk of attracting cheaters.

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Viral options for contests are great but be aware that they too will attract more scammers.

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A simple quiz is a good way to entertain your loyal fans and reduce the number of cheaters. As a contest it’s not the most glamorous, but it can work well depending on your goal. If you have a large, loyal fan base it’s a great way to have fun with them.

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Photo contests that require votes usually attract a higher proportion of cheaters. To circumvent this you need to manage how the ultimate winner is selected. Here are some suggestions:

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First prize winner is picked by a jury

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Second prize winner is randomly picked

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Third prize winner is chosen by the number of votes

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The rules are there to protect you – use them! “Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify contestants”

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If you require contestants to install an app it will be easy to identify fake accounts. Agorapulse contest apps have additional features that identify “suspicious users” and it lets you ban cheaters

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Emeric highlights a few ways to spot cheaters; their timeline profile just shows their interests and all the contests they enter; groups of people who are voting in packs but not entering themselves should make alarm bells go off and people with the same name but spelled differently may be a warning sign too.

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Finally if you detect a cheater – ban them immediately from the contest and your page

#3 Will the Newsfeed Changes Kill Timeline Contests?

Facebook has announced major changes to the newsfeed algorithm. One of these changes will target like-baiting. According to Facebook, “like-baiting is when a post explicitly asks News Feed readers to like, comment or share the post in order to get additional distribution beyond what the post would normally receive”. Effective timeline contests need to ask for a specific action such as a like or a comment in order to gather entries. Will the update be the end of timeline contests as we know them?

What’s the PULSE on This?

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Timeline contest posts widely use the terms “Like” and “Comment”, so it’s fair to say that the new like-baiting rule may hinder the use of timeline contests.

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Scott recommends some creative ways to ask for entries. He suggests that instead of using “like” we could use “thumbs up”, and instead of “comment” use “caption”.

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The new update has just made it tougher to manage timeline contests. Scott says another option is to use a third party app (we agree!) and thanks for the shout-out Scott.

#4 4 Ways to Prepare for the New Page Timeline

The new timeline for Facebook pages is currently being rolled out. There are quite a few changes that will affect how and where content appears on your page. Don’t worry; there are some changes that you can make in advance for a seamless transition. Make these adjustments now so that you will be ready to rock and roll when the new timeline hits your page.

What’s the PULSE on This?

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Facebook has changed the design of pages again. This means you need to make a few adjustments. Andrea used Guy Kawasaki’s profile as an example. If you have text in the lower 65px of your banner you need to move it up or it won’t be visible.

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The new design includes your company name so you don’t need to include it in your banner image, unless you want to of course. A tagline may do just the trick

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Review your short and long descriptions and make sure you choose the correct category for your page

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The way apps are shown has also changed. Only the first three are visible, so choose the ones you want fans to see.

#5 WCA – How to Create a Sales Funnel without Emails

The ultimate goal of most online marketing efforts is a measurable conversion. More often than not that means a sale. In order to achieve this goal many brands use a standard sales funnel. The first step requires people to provide their email address in exchange for something of value to them. They are then entered into a nurture sequence of email messages and landing pages, through to an eventual conversion.

A sales funnel like this is effective, but it can’t work without first collecting a valid email address. So how do you create a sales funnel without collecting emails?

What’s the PULSE on This?

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Create a nurture sequence. Jon gives a simple example of a nurture sequence based on a video series. If you are going to target people who have landed on a specific lead page, make sure to think through each step and create an ad for each of those audiences. This can be as simple or as complicated as you like.

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Create a Website Custom Audience (WCA) for each page. You build your audience based on anyone who visited a page on your site. You can be specific about people who visit each page in your nurture sequence.

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Create ads for each step.

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People who visit your lead magnet page

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People who visit page lead magnet page but did not convert

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People who visit page 2 but did not convert

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Page 4 is where you sell to the audience you have nurtured through the funnel

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Jon is always asked some great questions. One question we liked was how much traffic do you need for this to work? Jon’s response was that the length of the funnel should be partially based on the traffic you can drive to it. Additionally, the duration you set for your WCAs should be related to the size of these audiences and budget you set. If you get 50-100 visitors to the initial landing page per day, you may want to set the WCA duration to 30 days

Did we leave anything out? Why not let us know what you think of this week’s roundup? “Like” us on Facebook and leave your comments and if you would like to know more about your page reach, check out our cool [free] tool

Jenny Brennan is passionate about Social Media and Facebook Marketing in particular! She makes it her mission to show her clients how to connect with customers in a meaningful way that will build long term trust and loyalty.

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